Athol
My wife managed to spin our V8 264 into an embankment on Sunday, bending the left rear axle outside the wheel bearing, smashing the edge off the Sirius mag and breaking the caliper off the diff housing. She also hit the left ends of both bumpers on the embankment, bending the front and rear of the car. :( Fortunately, I have a parts car for the standard parts including bodywork and brake caliper, so I only have to source an axle and rim.
The problem is that it is a Ford nine inch centre with Volvo axle tubes and modified Ford 28-spline axles.
From memory, I looked at a 2-series axle alongside the Ford ones when I was assembling the diff years ago, and the 2-series axle wasn't long enough to cut the end off and re-spline, even for the left axle, which is shorter than the right.
As far as I can work out, a 7 or 9-series axle would be about 75mm longer, with the same bearing and stud pattern. I'm wondering whether other details such as the distance between flange and bearing would be the same, allowing me to simply cut and re-spline a 7-series axle to replace the bent one rather than having to change the stud pattern, etc on another Ford or Holden axle.
Philia_Bear
7/9 would only be 50mm longer
This might just be long enough to pull it off but the axels are piss week
Id just some custom axels made up from something better then sewer pipe that the stock ones are made from
Vee_Que
Ford 8.8" diff from an explorer with bracketa to suit and using ford axles is available, the weakness in the volvo diff is the axles!
Vee_Que
You can redrill the hub off the stronger ford axle hubs too...
Athol
Does anybody have a 7 or 9-series axle out of the diff, that they could measure? They step down in diameter near the spline end, and I'd like to find out what the length is from the bearing shoulder (outside face of bearing) to the end of the large diameter part where it steps down.
Even if the axle is weak, it would get the car back on the road and give me a chance to get a pair of stronger axles made.
Vee_Que
I do have one. I'll be able to measure it tonight
Vee_Que
540mm start to end on the axle to the fixed section Add 35mm to the end of the bearing.
Athol
Thanks. We managed to find four 7- and 9-series in a scrap yard in Newcastle, and got an axle a couple of hours ago. It looks like it will be just barely long enough. It should get turned and splined tomorrow. :-)
Vee_Que
Why not use a stronger axle? They are the weak point on the stock volvo diff, let alone on a 9"!
Athol
I'll probably get a pair of new billets made, but that will take weeks if not months and this is a daily driver. A $40 axle and $60 bearing kit will at least get it back on the road.
Looking at the axle, I'm guessing that the weak point would be screwing the spline off the shaft at the small diameter. If so, that's the only part that we're not keeping because the 9" is 28 spline and shorter. We're going back to the step up in diameter and turning it to the larger diameter of a 28-spline.
Because the spline will be machined rather than rolled, the shaft won't have a neck alongside the spline. The shaft will be the diameter of the outside of the spline, tapering back up to the original shaft diameter.
Anthony
Vee_Que;57914 wroteWhy not use a stronger axle? They are the weak point on the stock volvo diff, let alone on a 9"!
Never known volvo axles to be a weak link, quite the opposite.
Vee_Que
Yld244 has destroyed a few...